Electron and hole mobilities in semimetallic bismuth nanowires

The Shubnikov de Haas effect is used to determine the electron and hole mobilities in a bismuth nanowire. We identify an excess hole density from a doping effect introduced during the on-film-formation-of-nanowires fabrication process. Three electron subbands and a single hole band contribute to the oscillatory magnetoresistance and these bands can be decomposed by fast Fourier transform analysis of rho(xx) into different orbits on an anisotropic Fermi surface. A nonharmonic Shubnikov de Haas oscillation from the hole band is due to variation in the carrier density with applied magnetic field. Electron and hole scattering is dominated by a short-range potential with a hole mobility of 5000 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and an electron mobility of 20 000 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) at 1.6 K. Mobility analysis of the fast Fourier transform of rho(xx) is used to determine the individual three electron and single hole subband mobilities.